Report: Free agent Burriss inks deal with Reds

Report: Free agent Burriss inks deal with Reds

Emmanuel Burriss' days with the Giants are over; he signed a minor-league contract with the Cincinnati Reds Wednesday, according to a Baseball America report.

The utility infielder who has also played in the outfield was set for his first arbitration before the Giants outrighted him to Triple-A early in November

REWIND: Giants send Burriss to Fresno

Burriss, the Giants' 2006 first-round pick, spent the last five seasons bouncing between San Francisco's major league club and its minor league affiliates. Burriss is a .243 career hitter over his five MLB seasons with the Giants.

Burriss, 27, split time in 2012, hitting .213 in 60 games for the Giants and .274 in 29 games for the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies.

SAN FRANCISCO — Austin Slater is quietly one of the fastest players in the Giants organization, but at some point this week, he will hope for the best from a slow jog.

Slater is nearly to the point where he’ll be cleared to start running, and if that goes well, the Giants will increase his activity and start to target a rehab assignment. The rookie outfielder has missed 35 games with a right groin strain but the Giants are confident Slater will return in September. Originally, there was some thought that he would be out the rest of the year. Slater should begin running this week.

“Running is the biggest hurdle,” Slater said. “I’ve been throwing and swinging. I’m swinging at 100 percent. That’s where the optimism comes in.”

Slater will take batting practice with the team on Friday. It’ll be his first time doing that since he went down in the second week of July. He has mostly been doing agility work in recent days and said it has gone well.

Elsewhere on the injury front, there is good news and bad news. Miguel Gomez had a setback with his knee and he won’t start a rehab assignment as hoped. Gomez is in a holding pattern for now, but Bochy believes the Giants are fine on the infield. In an emergency, Buster Posey can play first and Ryder Jones can back up other infield positions. Orlando Calixte also provides coverage.